“Do you want my entire story, like a tale told to empty youths? Is that why you have trapped me here and attempted your mind games?”
“You are dangerous and there are many who want to end that danger. If you have something to say, you should say it now.”
“I am older than entire star systems of this realm. I persist because I am empowered by Mawu-Lisa to persist and carry out their will. Such a long life is filled with change. I have witnessed this realm grow to what it is today, infected by the ill intent of the Vodun Lêgba and the minions he created on Endla. When Lêgba came to us, we believed that he was serving the will of the mother-father, and I gladly ventured from the Fonlands to this realm to be the first explorer. He made us into his first angels, his army who battled the dwellers of this realm who were dangerous and mysterious to us then. We conquered Wiis in his name. We made Endla habitable. We are the hands of the mad Vodun’s legacy, and it is our greatest sin. Most of us realize that, except Welboas who continues to be his tool for creation of the aerphim. I was his best killer because I was the best killer long before we met him. I am pleasant and unassuming and I helped Legba become the god that he is here. But we are free from his influence and we swore a truce between us to avoid many casualties. Just before this ceasefire between the Mmoatia Supreme Hive and the archangels of Endla, Seraphiel murdered a dear friend of mine, Tracia, in cold blood. I honored that ceasefire until I traveled to Wiis where it was clear that he was working to obtain the most precious resource of that place, at the expense of the jeris who barely benefitted from the commodity that they risked their lives to mine. While on Wiis, I was attacked by a group of acrobats who attempted to end my life at the command of Seraphiel. I defended myself, and as a result, this group was killed. Seraphiel left Wiis and I have been pursuing him with my companion Rusa. We did not intend to land on Xaxax, the vessel that we used for travel crashed into the forest. The xaxews that we encountered were hostile and we were told that we would not leave the planet alive. My actions there were justified by self defense and a desire to hamper the xaxew ability to pursue me once I left the planet. I am not a murderer. I am and have always been a warrior, a fighter. I have only ever wanted to protect life because life is interesting and makes my existence interesting. I am here in this realm because I enjoy it. The realm known as Earth is a place of joy and discovery to me and I am its sworn protector. I am no threat to the innocence of this realm. But I seek to be the nightmare to all who intend to bring harm, including Legba himself.”
There was a long silence. Pultine had no more words and she stood in the middle of the mirror box.
“Is it true that the Mmoatia commune with the dead?” the disembodied voice eventually asked. “You all ferry messages between the land of the living and of the dead?”
“No two Fonlanders are exactly the same. I am Mmoatia because my skin was black at birth and I had wings. Not all Mmoatia have retractable wings like mine, not all Mmoatia have the same relationship to the light that I have. Some Mmoatia are so small that they can live in my hair and they can’t change their size. The Mmoatia connection to the dead was established in the Earth Realm, in a land known as Ghana, where the Mmoatia there used their abilities to interact with the Earthers and they were able to send messages between living and dead Earthers. That is not me. When I first encountered the Earth realm’s Ghana, there were no Earthers, no humans, like the ones that exist there today. I do not commune with the dead. I am a champion for life as I’ve said before.”
“What distinguishes a Mmoatia from other Fonlanders with wings?”
Pultine laughed but it sounded more like an exasperated sigh. “The Fonlands tell us who and what we are. That is the only explanation. If I were born exactly as I was but in a different section of the disc of Agê, I may have been called a yumbo. But the mmoatia claimed me and I can do what most of them do even though I am much larger and have very distinctive physical features. It is different for each Fonlander of course. Some look exactly as their names or classifications historically describe. “
“Seraphiel is a friend of the Defense Ministry and its coalition. Your journey to murder him is enough for them to execute you, even if you could prove as you say that all of the lives you have ended were in self defense.”
“So what is the point of any of this?” Pultine asked forcefully. “I have been honest with you. Hostile, for sure, but I have given you a history that you were ignorant of before so that you could understand my point of view, as you asked me to do. This despite my boiling rage that whispers ‘self destruct’ out of spite because it is clear that you are gathering information about the Fonlands that you have never experienced first hand and it is likely that you have never been in the presence of an Fonlander. You assume that I am aggressive because of my actions of late and of deep history, but I am only aggressive in response to a threat. This history lesson is over. If you mean to kill me, do it. I have nothing left to say.”
The mirrored wall in front of her began to rise and Pultine saw Rusa standing in the doorway. There were armored guards behind him and he stood with both his hands up.
PRL Serials 